high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2021-47103·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: inet: fully convert sk->sk_rx_dst to RCU rules syzbot reported various issues around early demux, one being included in this changelog [1] sk->sk_rx_dst is using RCU protection without clearly documenting it. And following sequences in tcp_v4_do_rcv()/tcp_v6_do_rcv() are not following standard RCU rules. [a] dst_release(dst); [b] sk->sk_rx_dst = NULL; They look wrong because a delete operation of RCU protected pointer is supposed to clear the pointer before the call_rcu()/synchronize_rcu() guarding actual memory freeing. In some cases indeed, dst could be freed before [b] is done. We could cheat by clearing sk_rx_dst before calling dst_release(), but this seems the right time to stick to standard RCU annotations and debugging facilities. [1] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in dst_check include/net/dst.h:470 [inline] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in tcp_v4_early_demux+0x95b/0x960 net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:1792 Read of size 2 at addr ffff88807f1cb73a by task syz-executor.5/9204 CPU: 0 PID: 9204 Comm: syz-executor.5 Not tainted 5.16.0-rc5-syzkaller #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/01/2011 Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0xcd/0x134 lib/dump_stack.c:106 print_address_description.constprop.0.cold+0x8d/0x320 mm/kasan/report.c:247 __kasan_report mm/kasan/report.c:433 [inline] kasan_report.cold+0x83/0xdf mm/kasan/report.c:450 dst_check include/net/dst.h:470 [inline] tcp_v4_early_demux+0x95b/0x960 net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:1792 ip_rcv_finish_core.constprop.0+0x15de/0x1e80 net/ipv4/ip_input.c:340 ip_list_rcv_finish.constprop.0+0x1b2/0x6e0 net/ipv4/ip_input.c:583 ip_sublist_rcv net/ipv4/ip_input.c:609 [inline] ip_list_rcv+0x34e/0x490 net/ipv4/ip_input.c:644 __netif_receive_skb_list_ptype net/core/dev.c:5508 [inline] __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0x549/0x8e0 net/core/dev.c:5556 __netif_receive_skb_list net/core/dev.c:5608 [inline] netif_receive_skb_list_internal+0x75e/0xd80 net/core/dev.c:5699 gro_normal_list net/core/dev.c:5853 [inline] gro_normal_list net/core/dev.c:5849 [inline] napi_complete_done+0x1f1/0x880 net/core/dev.c:6590 virtqueue_napi_complete drivers/net/virtio_net.c:339 [inline] virtnet_poll+0xca2/0x11b0 drivers/net/virtio_net.c:1557 __napi_poll+0xaf/0x440 net/core/dev.c:7023 napi_poll net/core/dev.c:7090 [inline] net_rx_action+0x801/0xb40 net/core/dev.c:7177 __do_softirq+0x29b/0x9c2 kernel/softirq.c:558 invoke_softirq kernel/softirq.c:432 [inline] __irq_exit_rcu+0x123/0x180 kernel/softirq.c:637 irq_exit_rcu+0x5/0x20 kernel/softirq.c:649 common_interrupt+0x52/0xc0 arch/x86/kernel/irq.c:240 asm_common_interrupt+0x1e/0x40 arch/x86/include/asm/idtentry.h:629 RIP: 0033:0x7f5e972bfd57 Code: 39 d1 73 14 0f 1f 80 00 00 00 00 48 8b 50 f8 48 83 e8 08 48 39 ca 77 f3 48 39 c3 73 3e 48 89 13 48 8b 50 f8 48 89 38 49 8b 0e <48> 8b 3e 48 83 c3 08 48 83 c6 08 eb bc 48 39 d1 72 9e 48 39 d0 73 RSP: 002b:00007fff8a413210 EFLAGS: 00000283 RAX: 00007f5e97108990 RBX: 00007f5e97108338 RCX: ffffffff81d3aa45 RDX: ffffffff81d3aa45 RSI: 00007f5e97108340 RDI: ffffffff81d3aa45 RBP: 00007f5e97107eb8 R08: 00007f5e97108d88 R09: 0000000093c2e8d9 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: 00007f5e97107eb0 R13: 00007f5e97108338 R14: 00007f5e97107ea8 R15: 0000000000000019 </TASK> Allocated by task 13: kasan_save_stack+0x1e/0x50 mm/kasan/common.c:38 kasan_set_track mm/kasan/common.c:46 [inline] set_alloc_info mm/kasan/common.c:434 [inline] __kasan_slab_alloc+0x90/0xc0 mm/kasan/common.c:467 kasan_slab_alloc include/linux/kasan.h:259 [inline] slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slab.h:519 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3234 [inline] slab_alloc mm/slub.c:3242 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc+0x202/0x3a0 mm/slub.c:3247 dst_alloc+0x146/0x1f0 net/core/dst.c:92 rt_dst_alloc+0x73/0x430 net/ipv4/route.c:1613 ip_route_input_slow+0x1817/0x3a20 net/ipv4/route.c:234 ---truncated---

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
5.15.12
Published
2024-03-04

Affected versions

From: 5.11

Until: 5.15.12

Fixed in: 5.15.12

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 5.15.12 or later to resolve this RCU synchronization vulnerability in the network stack. The fix properly implements RCU protection rules for the sk->sk_rx_dst pointer, preventing use-after-free conditions during early demux operations. Reboot the system after applying the kernel update to activate the patched version.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel && sudo reboot

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Run 'uname -r' to check the currently running kernel version and confirm it is earlier than 5.15.12
  2. Execute 'cat /proc/version' to verify kernel build details and check if it contains a vulnerable version identifier
  3. Search system logs with 'grep -i "use-after-free\|KASAN" /var/log/kern.log' to identify any past exploitation attempts targeting the dst_check function
  4. After applying updates, reboot and run 'uname -r' again to confirm the kernel version is now 5.15.12 or higher

FAQ

What is CVE-2021-47103?

CVE-2021-47103 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's network stack where the sk->sk_rx_dst pointer was not properly protected by RCU (Read-Copy-Update) synchronization rules, allowing it to be freed while still referenced during TCP early demux processing.

Is CVE-2021-47103 being actively exploited?

No, this vulnerability is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and no public exploits are available. However, it was discovered through automated fuzzing and represents a real memory safety risk.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2021-47103?

Linux kernel versions 5.11 through 5.15.11 are affected. The vulnerability was patched in kernel 5.15.12 and later.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2021-47103?

Run 'uname -r' and compare the output to 5.15.12. If your kernel version is between 5.11 and 5.15.11, your system is vulnerable and requires immediate patching.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2021-47103?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2021-47103 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2026-63994CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tunnels: load network headers after skb_cow() in iptunnel_pmtud_build_icmp[v6]() Sashiko found that iptunnel_pmtud_build_icmp() and iptunnel_pmtud_build_icmpv6() were caching ip_hdr() and ipv6_hdr() before an skb_cow() call which can reallocate skb->head. Fix this possible UAF by initializing the local variables after the skb_cow() call. Remove skb_reset_network_header() calls which were not needed.
CVE-2026-64025CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, skmsg: fix verdict sk_data_ready racing with ktls rx sk_psock_strp_data_ready() already checks tls_sw_has_ctx_rx() and defers to psock->saved_data_ready when a TLS RX context is present, avoiding a conflict with the TLS strparser's ownership of the receive queue (commit e91de6afa81c, "bpf: Fix running sk_skb program types with ktls"). sk_psock_verdict_data_ready() has no equivalent guard. When a socket is inserted into a sockmap (BPF_SK_SKB_VERDICT) before TLS RX is configured, tls_sw_strparser_arm() saves sk_psock_verdict_data_ready as rx_ctx->saved_data_ready. On data arrival: tls_data_ready -> tls_strp_data_ready -> tls_rx_msg_ready -> saved_data_ready() = sk_psock_verdict_data_ready() -> tcp_read_skb() drains sk_receive_queue via __skb_unlink() without calling tcp_eat_skb(), so copied_seq is not advanced. tls_strp_msg_load() then finds tcp_inq() >= full_len (stale), calls tcp_recv_skb() on the now-empty queue, hits WARN_ON_ONCE(!first), and returns with rx_ctx->strp.anchor.frag_list pointing at a psock-owned (potentially freed) skb. tls_decrypt_sg() subsequently walks that frag_list: use-after-free. Apply the same fix as sk_psock_strp_data_ready(): if a TLS RX context is present, call psock->saved_data_ready (sock_def_readable) to wake recv() waiters and return immediately, leaving the receive queue untouched. TLS retains sole ownership of the queue and decrypts the record normally through tls_sw_recvmsg().
CVE-2026-100075CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/srpt: Fix srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() unwind counters When srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() fails partway through a multi-buffer indirect descriptor, the unwind path destroys RDMA contexts but leaves stale n_rw_ctx and n_rdma values (and a dangling rw_ctxs pointer). Later sq_wr_avail accounting in srpt_queue_response() or srpt_write_pending() can then subtract the wrong number of send queue credits. Reset the counters and clear rw_ctxs after freeing the heap allocation before returning an error.
CVE-2026-64000CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: hsr: fix potential OOB access in supervision frame handling Ensure the entire TLV header is linearized before access by adding sizeof(struct hsr_sup_tlv) to the pskb_may_pull() calls. Without this, a truncated frame could cause an out-of-bounds access.
CVE-2026-64439CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: crypto: krb5 - filter out async aead implementations at alloc krb5_aead_encrypt(), krb5_aead_decrypt() in rfc3961_simplified.c and rfc8009_encrypt(), rfc8009_decrypt() in rfc8009_aes2.c set a NULL completion callback and treat any negative return from crypto_aead_{encrypt,decrypt}() as terminal, falling through to kfree_sensitive(buffer). When the encrypt_name resolves to an async AEAD instance the request returns -EINPROGRESS, the buffer is freed while the backend's worker still holds a pointer, and the worker dereferences the freed slab on completion. KASAN report under UML+SLUB with a synthetic async aead backend bound to krb5->encrypt_name: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in t5_stub_complete+0x7d/0xc7 The helpers were written synchronously, so filter the async instances out at allocation time instead of plumbing crypto_wait_req() through every call site. Reachable via net/rxrpc/rxgk.c, fs/afs/cm_security.c and net/ceph/crypto.c on systems with an async AEAD provider bound to the krb5 enctype name.

References

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